Art of upholstery.



No. 654,618. Patented luly 3|, |900.

A. FRESCHL.

RT F UPHOLSTERY. (Aplvvlication led Sept. 25, 1,899.) (No Model.)

PATENT OFFICE,

ALFRED FREscI-IL, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ART OF UPHOLSTERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 654,618, dated July 31, 1900. Application filed september t25,1899. stanno. 731,578. tno specimens.)

To all whom it may concern.- 9

Be it known that-I, ALFRED FREscHL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois," have invented certain new and useful Im provements in the Art of Upholstery, (Case No. 7;) and I do hereby declare that the following is such a full, clear, and exact de# scription of the invention as will enableothl ers skilled in the art to which Vit appertains to practice and use the same.

This invention relates to an improved method or process of making upholstered or tufted cushions, and has for its object to render the making of such cushions more expe'- ditious and simple and considerably cheaper.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention is intended to produce upholstered cushions, backs, or seats designed for use in upholstering sofas, chairs, carriages, and like objects, and which usually consist, when completed and ready for application to the seat or other supporting frame, of a bottom or backing of cardboard, burlap,

or other suitable material, an outer or upper covering or facing of leather, cloth, or similar material, and a filling or packing of hair,

eXcelsior, or like material. To produce the tufted eifect in these cushions, which may be of any pattern or design, the filling is divided into a plurality of elevated rounded or4 da` mond-shaped projections and the cover and backing are secured together between these elevations at the base of the cushion by suit'- able fastening or anchoring means, whereby the cover presents a number oftufts 4disposed in regular and orderly arrangement i'n accordance with the selected pattern, the outer edges being nished in any manner appropriate to the use for which the cushion is intended. In the process of making such tufted cushions, as heretofore generally practiced, the backing and cover were usually secured together, as along one or lvmore of their edges, and the tufts or projectionswere made step by step, beginning at Vthe outside row of tufts Vat one side orend of the cushion, and so on until lthe several'rows were successively completed, for the materials were laid over asuitable form, the filling being inserted around the tufters of the form,and mechanical means were employed to bring the parts into the desired relation to finish the cushion by suitably connecting the cover and backing at the bases of the depressions between the tufts by retaining-stitches or by clench-buttons.

In the drawings, which illustrate vcertain In making a cushion according to the prinf ciples of my present invention a suitable support is employed, which is preferably in the form of a frame, such as shown in Fig. l, upon which the backing is laid. This frame may be a rectangular skeleton, resembling somewhat an ordinary quilting-frame, cornposed of the side and end pieces a, a', each provided with any suitable device, such as pins a2, to hold the material in proper position. The backing, which may be of cardboard or other suitable material, is preferably provided with perforations as', arranged in the design or pattern which it is desired to reproduce in the upholstered article, these perforations corresponding in arrangement and disposition to the depressions or indentations in the cushion which receive the tuftbuttons or other fastenings between the elevati'ons ortufts. It is apparent that any design may be made by varying the locations of these perforations. The filling materialy is also similarly prepared, the perforations therein corresponding to those in the backing and adapted to register therewith when the lling is superposed upon it. This filling may be of any desired materialsuch as is now commonly employed for this purpose. Layers of cotton-batting are very suitable as readily admitting of easy manipulation, es-

IOO

pecially in forming the perforations; although I do not wish to be understood as in any way limiting myself to the use of this material,

e s V 654,618

` as it is obvious that other vmaterials may be 'the desired perforations or which ,may be A to lit theopenings in the backing.

formed in the dimensions and pattern desired by packing in suitable mold-cells of the size and form required to make the tufts or elevations.

The coversl is preferably marked or creased with a pattern corresponding in design with that outlined by the perforations in the backing, the pattern beingmarked with such full-v i ness of cloth as will permit the materialto form the tufts or elevations in'v the Iinished product. The cover may, if desired, be per: foratedA to indicate the points at which the depressions will be formed.

- The reference-letter B represents a tuftingtool, which is provided with a suitable handle portion b and a shank b', the latter being preferably round and substantially of a size The face of the-shank shown in Fig.;3 is channeled or concaved, as at b2, and is provided with a pin b3,'projecting preferably axially therefrom. Inf the form sh'own in Fig. '4 the pin is omit- -ted and the tool is provided on the face of its shankwit'h a seat b4 to receive the head of a suitable tuft-button b5, provided with an eye in its shank. l It will of course be understood that this seat maybe formed in any suitable manner', or that the channel b2, of the form shown in Fig. 3, may be adapted to serve this purpose by making the pin removable.

In the operation of this invention the back.

.ing is suitably perforated, as is the filling material, in any of the methods heretofore described, and the cover is preferably marked or creased with a pattern corresponding to the arrangement of these perforations. The -backing is secured upon the frame A and the Vfilling material is then superposed thereon,

withA its perforations or openings between the Vseveral portions forming the tufts or eleva- -tions in the cushion registering with the perforations in the backing. The cover or outer fabric is .then placed face upward over the material, and the fullnessof the material is depressed through the perforations in the filling and backing by the operator by means of a tufting-tool, and the parts are then se- -cured in their tufted relation by suitable securing devices. When the step of depressing the coveris about to be begun, the several parts are in the relation shown at the left of Fig; 2, the successive steps being illustrated by the dierent positions shown therein. The tool is first employed to properly center the fullness of the cover material with respect to `the perforations in the backing and lling and then carries it through these perforations .to a point slightly below the lower level of the backing and in position to receive an Y anchor c,'as ofthread, wire, or other suitable Y Y .material or formi A tufting-tool, such as shown in Fig; 3, is

em ployed when it is desired to have the parts secured together by passing the fastening device through the material of the cover, as the channelwin the lower end of this tool permits the anchor to pass directly through the material' lo ,f the cover itself, this material being held taut around the end of the tool and in the path of the anchor as it passes through the channel, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. When, however, it is preferred to employ tuft-buttons, the tufting-tool of Fig. 4 is employed, in which lcase the button is inserted in they seat lin the endk of the tool, its shank projectingaiiially from the tool to serve the same function as the pin b3 of the tool of Fig.

3, which is to properly'center the fullness of the cover with respect to the perforations. As the tool is operated, it carries thecover into the perforations as before andthe shank of the button is positioned to receive the wire or anchor in its eye.

.. It will be apparent that 'by providing the filling and backing with -perforations before they are placed upon the frame for ymanipulation the material may beprepared in large quantities and of any desired number of patterns, this work being accomplished 'by the method described expeditiously and cheaply, and thata saving in theltime and labor of the operator is effected,'as he does not have to stop to arrange the perforationsl in thematerial. It is,however,apparent that this preparation of the material, may beaccomplished after the backing andfilling have been placed upon the frame. 'It is further apparent that the backing and filling may be separately prepared or that they may be simultaneously prepared by superposing one upon. the other and making the perforations in both` at the same time, in which case it will beconvenient to apply'to the uppermost material a suitable blank or pattern indicating the design to be produced and the locations of the perforations.

By employing a method of the character disclosed it is apparent that cushionsof various patterns may be made upon thesame frame. While I may employ a work-table having perforations-y in lmultiple patterns to accommodate and receive the depressed porltions of the cover, itis kapparent that the mold or work-table, which of necessity must be provided with such rpassagesandwould confuse the operator by reason of the various varrangements thereof for thev` different patterns,'is eliminated in the specific exemplication'describedin connectionwith the frame, in which case'the backing itself is thesole support of the upholstered material and `constitutes the table` upon Awhich the'work is done; but it will be further observedrthat it is unnecessary in practicing this invention with either a perforated work-table or a skeleton frame or any equivalent construction to employ any mechanical parts, aV simple tool :for depressing the material being all that is IOO IIO

sists in providing perforations in the backing and filling arranged in predetermined patterns, and marking the cover to correspond therewith. p

2. As an improvement in the art of upholstery, the process of preparing the materials of the cushion, which consists in superposing the'flling upon the backing, providing perforations simultaneously in both materials, and marking `the cover to indicate its points of passage through said perforations.

3. As an improvement in the art of upholstery, the method of forming tufted cushions, which consists in providing perforations in the backing and filling arranged upon the same pattern, marking the cover to correspond therewith and forcing the same through said perforations by hand, and then anchoring or fastening the materials in place.

4. As an improvement in the art of upholstery, the method of forming tufted cushions which consists in correspondingly perforating the backing and filling and marking the cover, depressing thecover through the perforations, and then suitably anchoring the cover in place by passing fastening devices therethrough at its points of depression.

5. As an improvement in the art of upholstery, the method of forming tufted cushions, which consists in providing the filling and backing with registering perforations,mark

ing the cover, depressing the cover through the registered perforations, and then wiring the cover at its points of depression.

6. As an improvement in the art of upholf stering, the method of forming tufted cushions, Which consists in similarly perforating thebacking and filling, applying the cover, depressing the cover through the perforations of the lling and backing, and then securing the cover-at its points of depression.

"7. As an improvement in the art of upholstery, the method of forming tufted cushions, which consists in providing the filling and backing with corresponding perforations, applying and depressing the cover through the of the cover below the rear of the backing,

A and passing a securing device therethrough.

8. As an improvement in the art of uphol` stery, the method of form ing tufted cushions, which consists in providing perforations in the backing and filling arranged upon the same pattern, applying the cover, placing tuft-buttons having eyeleted Shanks in position over the perforations, depressing the cover and buttons into the perforations, and anchoring the buttons in place.

9. As an improvement in the art of upholstery, the method of forming tufted cushions, which consists in positioning a suitablyper forated backing and a filling upon a frame, applying a cover by forcing the same at intervals through said perforations, and securing said cover in place.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED FRESCHL.

Witnesses: ROBERT J. CATcHPoLE, J. McRoBERTs.

55 perforations, carryingthe depressed portions f' 

